Archive for December 28, 2010
THE DISAPPEARING SPOON by Sam Kean
One of the most striking pictures in Sam Kean’s entertaining book, The Disappearing Spoon, is of an innocuous ceramic pot. The “trendy” Revigator, the caption points out, is a pottery crock lined with nuclear radium. “Users filled the flask with water, which turned radioactive after a night’s soak. Instructions suggested drinking six or more refreshing glasses a day.”
True to its title, THE DISAPPEARING SPOON is full of such awesome and intriguing facts and tales related to the periodic table. The “disappearing spoon” of the title for example, would make a cool April Fool’s trick. Fashion a spoon with gallium—which molds easily and looks like aluminum—and set it out with tea. Guests would be horrified to see their spoons “disappear” as they used it to stir their Earl Grey, Kean reports.
December 28, 2010
· 
Judi Clark · 
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Tags: Nonfiction · Posted in: Non-fiction
